Improvement in sleeping-cars



l. WOODRUFF.

Sleeping-Cars. N0 147 539. i Patented Feb.17,1874.

AM. i//m-l/YHOEMF/l/C 60.11( Novak/1551x0053) JONAH WOODRUFF, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN SLEEPING-CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 147,539, dated February 17, 1874; application filed October 14, 187,3.

@Asn A.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JoNAn WOODRUFF, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sleeping-Cars 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing making' a part of this specication, in which- Figure l is a view in perspective of a section of my improved sleeping-car, as the same appears when in condition for day service. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same with the seats and seat-backs removed, and showing the upper-berth platform, both in positionI for use as a couch and also in the position it occupies when the car is used as a day car. Fig. 3, by an irregular longitudinal section,

y further illustrates the same features; and Fig.

4by which the upper-berth platform is brought into and held in position for use for night service, and stowed away when the car is used as a day car.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my improvement, I will proceed to describe its construction and mode of operation.

The side of the car-body is shown at A, the door at A', the end frames of the seats at B2, and the recesses under the seats, for the receptionof bedding, te., at B1. The recess in the side of the car-body for the reception of the upper-berth platform is represented at D, and is made as described Vin the patent above named, except that I prefer to make it only of sufficient depth to receive the upper berth platform. This upper-berth platform, consisting of two halves, a and c', is more fully represented in Fig. 4, said halves being hinged together, and the outer one being upholstered, as shown, is rigidly fastened to the frames or supports c, as shown, and in such way that the supports shall give a iirm bearing along the ends of the half of the platform to which they are attached, thereby the better to hold it in position when elevated, and preferably they project, as shown at c1, sufficiently far beyond the line of hinging so as to support the adjacent edge of the other or folding half of the platform, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the opposite edge` of the folding half resting, when elevated, upon the pins c2 attached to the sides of the car at the proper elevation. The supportingframes c are arranged at the ends of the berthi platform, and are attached byl means of a slot, c3, and pin c4, to the berth-partition B, in such way that when the berth-platform is stowed away, as shown in Fig. 2, such supportingframes will be concealed from view by the seatbacks s. rPhe position of the devices referred to, when the car is iitted up for day service, is as illustrated in Fig. 1.

To lit it up for use as a sleeping-car, the seatbacks s, seats s1, and front panels s3 are folded down, as shown in Fig. 3, onto the door. The porter, taking hold of the handles c, which are attached to the upholstered face of the berthplatform a for that purpose, draws the berthplatform horizontally out of its recess D, (the slot c3 being long enough to permit of such motion,) as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and then swings it upward till it comes in a horizontal position, letting the supports c drop down until the upper end of the slot c3 rests on the pin c, and fastens it in such position by means of the slide c1, which is attached to the supporting-frame, and which en gages a suitable pin on the bracket bf, which latter is attached to the partition B. He then unfolds or turns backward toward the sides of the car the folded half a of the berth-platform till'it rests on the supporting-pins c2, as already described. This constitutes the upper-berth platform, and the bedding is placed thereon in the usual way, with curtains or other suitable par titions between and in front of the sections.

The lower-berth platform may be of any snitable construction7 either that shown in the patent above referred to7 or such a one as forms a part ofthe snbjeetanatter of a separate application filed herewith. To fit it up for day serviee the operation is simply reversed, and the upper-berth platform being folded together is placed in the recess D7 and the seats and seatbaeks being raised up gives each section the appearance shown in Fig. 1.

That I claim as my invention7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The longitudinally-jointed upperherth plat form a a', attached to the pivoted supportingarms c, which are placed in suitable position to partially support the upper-berth platform extended as a couch, or to be thrown down behind tlie seat-backs to serve as guides in plae ing the folded berth-platforms in the reeess'l), substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I7 the said J oNAH VOODRUFF, have hereunto set my hand.v

J ONAH VOODRUFF. \Vituesses f E. T. PRICE, AUGUSTUS Turin. 

